HTSAL 2 , 0
by Nithela
Summary: How to save a life" rewritten and revised. Ed's trying to cope with being pregnant and fails pretty hard at it. Al has his body back, Amestris is saved, but life has never been easy for the Elrics and never will be. No pairings. Rated for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

**Nithela speaks:** **Erm. Hi! I'm back with a new version of "How to save a life".**

**Why? Well, I still like story idea and all that, but let's face it. It. Was. Badfic. I reread it today, and the poor writing makes me cringe. I've gotten so much better since I wrote HTSAL, so here's HTSAL 2.0! ( Ain't I good at naming stories? 8D :shot: ) Rewritten and revised. Hopefully loads better than the first version, which I will keep on my account for now so I (and others) can compare, and remember what's supposed to happen. Sort of. I'll change some things plot-wise too.  
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**Anyway, here's the first chapter, dusted off and polished up for your reading pleasure (I hope). And as soon as it's up on the fabolous internet, I'll go back to the rewriting of the second one.  
**

**Warnings for this chapter: Edward's bad mouth. Angst, angst, ANGST.  
**

* * *

Alphonse half-ran after his virtually fuming brother, reaching out for the other's arm.

"Brother, stop! Wait! _Talk_ to me!" He panted.

"About what, Al?" Ed hissed, not slowing down in the slightest. "I _told _ya, it's going out of me, end of discussion!"

"But it's a child! A living human!"

Edward stopped dead in his tracks and Alphonse had to do the same to avoid colliding with his brother, who probably would take it as being jumped and punch him in the face in his current state. Ed whirled on the spot, fists clenched, back straight as a stick, meeting the other's worried gaze with his own, livid eyes.

"Al, I'm 18 years old. I'm a _guy_! I'm _not supposed to be PREGNANT_! THIS DAMN THING IS GOING OUT OF ME_-_"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"- EVEN IF I HAVE TO TRANSMUTE IT OUT MYSELF!"

Al hesitated at the panicked overtone in his brother's voice as Edward ranted on, and when he was done and just stood there, panting slightly from his outburst, the younger Elric felt himself sagging.

"Brother, you're no murderer." He said weakly.

Edward regarded him for a long, wavering moment, averted his gaze and turned back around to head for the door, leaving Alphonse standing in the middle of the stale, empty hospital corridor.

* * *

Edward closed the door to the hotel room they shared, locked it from the inside and went over to his bed to sit down on it, feeling slightly faint from the half-running pace he had kept up since he left Al. His arms placed themselves on his stomach as a wave of nausea made bile rise in his throat. He imagined that he already could feel the alien being growing inside him, using up his energy as it evolved. The thought made him gag and he clamped a hand over his mouth and rushed to the bathroom.

Once done emptying the contents of his stomach in the toilet, he staggered over to the shower. He needed to relax or he would throw up again. When the water was on and the heat adjusted, he began undressing, careful not to look down at himself. He had never been self-conscious, not even when he just had gotten his automail installed, but this was different. His body wasn't his anymore, he _carried_ something, a parasite, and he couldn't _stand_ it.

He stepped inside the cubicle and increased the heat as he stood in the spray of water. He felt really, really dirty – filthy, even – and dirt needed to get washed away. Without thinking, he made the water go even hotter, so much that he gasped as it hit his back. He fumbled for the sponge and began scrubbing fervently, not bothering to use the soap. He could feel chafes forming on his burned skin but the feeling of filth didn't go away. He scrubbed even harder, gritting his teeth and making desperate sounds. Go away. Go away. Go away, go away go away _go away-_

It felt like he was tearing off pieces of himself, it stung all over, but it didn't _help_! Edward let out a frustrated shriek and threw the sponge into the wall before hiding his face in his hands. He slumped down to the floor with a thud and laid down against the tiles, his body curling up into fetus position as the hot water kept assaulting his body. He couldn't bring himself to care.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nithela speaks, or rants, whatever: HEY! Missed me? 8D ::shot:: Well, I'm still alive, and a couple of recent reviews I got on the first version of this story made me want to write more. So... here's a new chapter! Enjoy. Hopefully. xD**

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* * *

  
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Alphonse had tried giving his brother some time to calm down, but he was getting tired and the shops in Central had closed an hour ago, so he had trudged home at last, praying Edward had regained at least a bit of his composure.

He frowned when the door to their room was locked even though the crack at the threshold let out a line of yellow light from inside. Edward always sought solitude when he was upset so it wasn't that odd, but _still_ not open? Hadn't he even gone out to eat? He sighed and dug in his pocket for the key.

The shower was running. Another odd thing, since Ed already had one in the morning. Not that he really cared about the other's hygiene routines, but it was still out of character of him.

"Brother?" he called out as he pulled off his jacket.

No answer. Alphonse stopped his movements to listen harder.

"Ed?"

Still nothing. Al threw the jacket on his bed and went over to the bathroom door.

"Ed, say something. You okay?"

Okay, maybe that wasn't the smartest question. But still. He was worried.

The shower was turned off and Al could hear the _step-kchak-step-kchak_ as his brother wandered around inside the small space. Eventually, the door opened, revealing a haggard-looking Edward.

"Yeah?" He croaked.

Whatever Alphonse had been on his way to say, it died in his throat when he saw the chafes and reddened skin on Ed's bare chest.

"What have you been _doing_?" He asked, horrified.

"I was dirty," Edward said tiredly and mildly pushed his way past his little brother to head for his bed, "m'okay now."

_Hell no_, Al thought, but he didn't know what to do. He had never seen Edward like that before. Bruised, yes. Beat up, yes. But not in that way, not really _broken_. So he let it be, defeated for today, and also went to bed, letting Ed shut him out for now.

The next day, Edward was called back to the army hospital for further examinations. Alphonse had insisted on going with his brother, who seemed much more composed after a night's sleep – _probably_ sleep, anyway, Al thought gloomily.

* * *

Edward kept nagging the doctor poking and prodding at his body during the whole process, asking for a way to get rid of the fetus. The elderly man merely shook his head and adjusted his glasses with a sigh after listening to Ed's heart with a stethoscope.

"This might be a case of human transmutation, since there is no other possibility for a male to bear a child. I can't let this go without reporting to the higher-ups." He looked just as perplexed as he had been the previous day – of course, Alphonse thought. This probably went against anything he had ever learned about the human body.

Edward's face darkened.

"You can report all you want, but I'm not going to stay pregnant." He said through gritted teeth, fists clenching the edge of the examination table. "I won't be some research subject just because some paper-shuffling moron up there wants to see what happens to me."

The doctor was on the verge of saying something, but he stayed silent and seemed to mull things over.

"Ten days," he offered. "Let me observe you for ten days. If there is no danger for your health to go through an abortion, you are free to do so, but if I find _any_ risk-"

"All right." Edward interrupted him, hopping off the table. "Ten days it is."

The elderly man looked hesitant for a moment.

"Going through this must be hard on you. Do you want any support? We have experienced therapists..."

But Edward was already on his way out, ignoring the offer, and the doctor looked disbelievingly at Alphonse, who just shrugged apologetically before following his brother.

* * *

Edward saw the repulsive mess of what had been dinner whirl around as it disappeared down the pipes connected to the toilet. Just ten days left. Ten days until…

He pushed the thoughts away and stepped over to the sink to wash his face and hands, trying to ignore the twinge of fear in his empty stomach. He could still see it all before him, the flashes of light, the grey ceiling, the bodies…

He turned the heat up and stuck the flesh hand into the jet, his metal one holding the wrist firmly to keep it there, trying to block out the memory with searing pain. Something in the region below his navel began to throb and he gagged again.

Ten days. Ten days. Ten days.

* * *

Alphonse knew his brother was going through hell, but every time he brought it up, Edward merely shook his head and insisted on being fine. They kept a routine of waking up, Ed going to the doctor, coming back several hours later, Al trying to question him about his health, them having a brief fight about it and then going to bed without getting anywhere, until the sixth night.

Alphonse had woken up to a pained shriek, and it took his disoriented brain a moment to figure out that it was Edward's. He scrambled out of the tangle of sheets and rushed over to the other room, throwing the door open just in time to see his brother trying to crawl headfirst out of his bed. Something had stained the sheets and a vile odor was coming from it, and he figured out what it was when Ed retched with his head hanging over the edge of the mattress and more splattered onto the floor with a disgusting splash.

Alphonse didn't know what to do.

"…go away…" Edward croaked, trying to wipe his mouth with a shaking hand. He shuddered and let out another pained wail, and the sound made Al snap out of it. He went into the bathroom and came back out with every towel he could find, sitting down on a relatively clean part of the bed right next to his brother. Edward lifted his head tiredly and tried to glare at him as Alphonse began drying him off with a soaked cloth.

"Al…"

"Talk to me." The younger Elric said, continuing to rid Edward's face of the mess. "Come on. Say something."

Ed gave him an odd look, then his eyes screwed shut and he rolled over on his back, gritting his teeth and clenching his stomach in obvious pain. Alphonse watched him for a moment, then he set his face in stone.

"That's it. I'm calling for an ambulance." He said and began to rise, but Edward's automail hand took hold of his arm, holding him back.

"Not that. Dr. Brigham." He panted, screwing his eyes shut in another bout of pain. "Just Dr. Brigham."

Alphonse looked helplessly at his brother.

* * *

"I don't like this," he said as he helped Edward down the few steps leading from the hotel's entrance. The blonde seemed a little bit less dying at the moment; he just grumbled something and let himself be supported by Al, who had slung the automail arm around his shoulders and had a firm grip around the other's waist. They began a slow walk towards the doctor's house.

"See?" Edward said, his spirits a bit higher. "It's just a couple of kilometers to Brigham's place. We'll make it just fine."

Alphonse didn't answer – he was too busy marveling over how fragile Ed felt like this, almost incapable of standing on his own two legs and shaking like a leaf. He wondered idly if this was how it had felt for Ed when Al had gotten his body back. Al hadn't been much more than a living skeleton that time, and Edward had scooped him up in his arms and carried him away without so much as a grunt.

Alphonse wondered why his brother, who could throw away anything for his little brother, insisted on refusing to accept any help on his own accord.

They went on in silence for a good while; Edward was probably too weak to talk anyway, and Al didn't know what to say. He was mad at Ed for not telling him what had happened in the first place, but this wasn't the right time to ask. Their first priority was to get to the doctor and get help.

The weight Edward put on Al's shoulder increased and the blonde grunted, then he sagged completely.

"Oh, shit…"

"Brother?" he asked in alarm; Ed was just dead weight by now. "Edward?"

Blood streamed out of Edwards nose and his whole body convulsed; Al lost his hold and Ed collapsed onto the ground with a thud. He tried to get up but was interrupted by a bout of coughs; blood sprayed out of his mouth between choked breaths. His eyes were widened and he tried say something, but he couldn't get enough air down his lungs. Al kneeled beside him and tried to support him, ease the pain in some way.

"Som'th'ng wr-wrong." Edward choked out.

Then he went completely limp.

"Brother?! BROTHER!"


End file.
